5 Ayurvedic tips for staying healthy in the winter

It's a little harder to stay balanced during the wintertime with colder weather, shorter days, less sunlight, more viruses prevalent, etc. Luckily Ayurveda has some helpful tips to keep us healthy:

1. Use heating spices to help balance Kapha, the cold dosha that can get imbalanced in winter.
These spices also stimulate Agni, the digestive fire which can get weak in the wintertime. Use Ginger, black pepper, cayenne, cloves, cardamom and turmeric liberally in cooking. If you have high Pitta, incorporate cumin, coriander and fennel which are more cooling spices.

2. Apply sesame oil to the body, especially the soles of the feet. The cold weather in winter can promote excessive dryness of the skin and the internal system. Sesame oil is a warming oil that's especially good at grounding and balancing the vata dosha, which will help you stay warm in the winter time. If you can apply sesame oil to your whole body before a bath at least once a week, that would be ideal.

3. Try to get at least 30 min. of sunlight every day. If you can incorporate this into a walk outside every day. Ayurveda recommends one hour of sunbathing every day. I suspect they knew about the importance of vitamin D that the body makes from sunlight. If you're unable to get sunlight take a vitamin D3 supplement daily (at least 400 international units).

4. Have a cup of hot tea every morning. You can have Chai, green tea, herbal tea or another hot beverage. The hot temperature in addition to the heating quality of tea will stimulate your Agni and also stimulate Kapha to prevent it from getting imbalanced. In addition you'll be getting all the antioxidants and polyphenols from the tea.

5. Visit a sauna/steam room for at least 30 min. per week. If you have high Pitta you may want to reduce your time exposure in the sauna to 10-20 min.. The heat helps provide some warmth to your inner system. In addition, sweating helps you detoxify through your skin, the largest organ. To avoid overheating try to stay on the lower level benches in the sauna and lie down if comfortable.

Although winter can be a challenging time these are a few simple tips that Ayurveda offers to help you stay healthy.

To your health and wellness,

Dr. Akil Palanisamy

Raw Food and Weight Loss

Some people swear by a 100% raw food diet, but is it for everyone? In Ayurvedic medicine, all things are individualized-- so the answer is that it is not good for everyone.

The general recommendation is that less processed food is better, but that each person's ability to eat raw food varies depending on their body type. For example, a vata person with weaker digestion may not do well at all on a raw food diet. Such a person may get digestive disturbances or other imbalances from eating only raw food. In contrast, the pitta person with a stronger digestion will be able to handle and thrive on raw food.

There is a connection between raw food and weight loss. The more raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts that one can eat, the more prana one will be getting daily from food. This will minimize hunger and should lead to overall fewer calories consumed per day if the person is in touch with their body.

Prana in food is an important element that sustains us. Raw food is high in prana. So the more raw food one can eat, the more life-sustaining energy one obtains, which will lead to reduced hunger and appetite.

But be sure not to eat more raw foods then your constitutional body type can handle. Vata people should eat some raw food in an overall diet of mostly cooked foods. Kapha people could do quite well on a fully raw food diet. Pitta people can eat raw food but, just like in other areas of their life, they should practice moderation. So eat raw -- but only what you can handle and digest!

Overcoming Sugar Cravings with Herbs

Continuing with the topic of losing weight, one of the primary changes that would be helpful for most people in my experience is eating fewer carbohydrates. In general eating whole grains and less processed complex carbohydrates is better than eating refined carbohydrates.

Of course, eating fewer desserts and sweets is very helpful as well. If one has a sweet tooth, there is an interesting Ayurvedic herb that can help with this.

It is called Gymnema Sylvestre or gurmar (which means "sugar destroyer") in Ayurvedic medicine. When taken as a liquid extract, this herb has the property of anesthetizing the tastebuds responsible for detecting the sweet taste. After swishing it around the mouth for about 30 seconds, one is actually not able to really experienced the "sweet" taste temporarily -- any chocolate candies such as Hershey's kisses or Kit Kat would actually not be sweet. You don't even have to swallow the extract, you can just spit it out.

If you feel like you really have a bad sweet tooth, keep a liquid extract of Gymnema around. When you have a craving for dessert, just swish and spit this extract and then have the dessert -- you'll find that it probably won't taste very good, and over time perhaps your cravings will decrease. I know it's hard to believe but it actually works!

Ayurvedic weight loss tips

Thinking about losing weight?!

One of the most common New Year's resolutions each year is to lose weight. In the next several posts we will discuss various tips for weight loss from Ayurvedic medicine. We will discuss issues of diet, how to eat, lifestyle, stress, and other areas, because all of these actually impact one's weight.

To begin with, let's start with the subject of water. To maintain a healthy weight each person needs to maintain a healthy Agni, or digestive fire. There are different types of Agni but the most important one is centered in the stomach, and responsible for digesting our food and controlling the pace of metabolism.

How does this relate to water? The first way is actually related to water temperature. Ayurveda always recommends having warm water, and suggests avoiding ice or chilled water. The reason is that cold water dampens and weakens the Agni while warm water supports it.

When one is trying to lose weight, the Agni should be strengthened and supported in order to boost metabolism and improve digestion of food. In fact some Ayurvedic practitioners start with just having warm water as part of a weight-loss program for new patients.

The water does not necessarily have to be boiled, just heated until it's warm. If the water is heated and then cooled it is still better to drink from the Agni perspective than water that is cold or has never been heated.

We'll continue our exploration in the next post...

Incorporating fenugreek into your diet

In our last post we talked about the health benefits of fenugreek. Fenugreek has a strong taste, which takes some getting used to. However, it has numerous health benefits which make it worthwhile.

Here are some ideas for using fenugreek seeds:

Add one teaspoon of roasted, whole seeds into breads or puddings to take advantage of the sweet flavor and increase the fiber content of your dish.

The seeds can also be steeped and made into a tea (our Ayurvedic drinks incorporate fenugreek).

Make a simple marinade with turmeric, curry powder, and garam masala in olive oil and add fenugreek seeds for seasoning meats or vegetables.

Grind the roasted seeds into a fine powder. This can be done in an herb grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Having the powder will carry the flavor further through the dish in a way that seeds can't, and is recommended if using in sauces.

Use the powder to create Indian-themed spice blends or add straight into a curry sauce. Fenugreek is a strong herb and when combined with other spices, half of a teaspoon will be plenty. If it is used as the sole spice, go up to one teaspoon, but add the extra half teaspoon slowly and taste often so you don't overpower the dish.

Try it out in different ways. The bottom line is, it is quite versatile and can be incorporated into your diet in a variety of ways -- as long as it gets into your body, that is all that matters!

Fenugreek Health Benefits

Ever heard about fenugreek?

Fenugreek seeds are small, slightly irregular shaped, yellow-beige in color, and have a strong, bitter taste. The pungent taste makes fenugreek well suited to its traditional in curries and other spice mixes. Fenugreek has a long history of use in Ayurvedic medicine.

Fenugreek traditionally has been used to treat arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, improve digestion, maintain a healthy metabolism, and to reduce menstrual pain. Recent studies have shown that Fenugreek may help lower blood glucose and cholestrol levels, and may be an effective treatment for both type 1 and 2 diabetes. Fenugreek is also being studied for its cardiovascular benefits.

Fenugreek seeds have been found to contain protein, vitamin C, niacin, potassium, and diosgenin (which is a compound that has properties similar to estrogen). Other active constituents in fenugreek are alkaloids, lysine and L-tryptophan, as well as steroidal saponins.

Fenugreek is often available in health food stores, and in Indian/Pakistani grocery stores.

It is one of the herbs incorporated in our Ayurvedic beverages. Next week -- how to use fenugreek at home.

The Benefits of Ghee

In Ayurvedic medicine, Ghee (clarified butter) has a special place. It is considered a grounding, calming food that is good for people from all 3 doshas. It is also beneficial and gradually stimulating Agni, the digestive fire that is essential for good health.

With that said, Ayurveda also emphasizes moderation. So I would not say that Ghee is a panacea and that more is always better. For example people with Kapha body types are recommended to use Ghee in moderation only, and in a meal which also has heating spices. It is best for people with Vata Constitution(body type).

A half teaspoon of Ghee added to warm basmati rice gives it a really tasty flavor and also helps with digestion of the rice. You can also use Ghee for cooking, as it is good for sautéing and even cooking at high temperatures because it has a high smoke point (in this instance it's better than olive oil as I described in my previous post).

One reader asked about where to order ghee online. I recommend Ancient Organics which makes an excellent Ghee from organic butter. It is one of the freshest and best tasting ghees I have tried. Plus they are aware of the spiritual properties of Ghee as well. You can order online at:

http://www.ancientorganics.com/products.htm

Have a wonderful day and remember, everything in moderation including Ghee!